Celebrating Pride With Our Salesforce Partners

Since its inception one year ago, the Salesforce Talent Alliance has sought to build and grow a more diverse partner ecosystem. Every new career path forged brings us closer to that goal, and it’s important we celebrate these stories. As we close out Pride Month, we’re excited to showcase some of the amazing work and ideas of our LGBTQ+ partner community.

On June 22, we hosted a LinkedIn Live session celebrating Pride month featuring:

• Ashley Allen, CEO & Founder, ITequality
• Stewart Monk, VP & GM, EMEA Salesforce, FinancialForce
• Michelle Skoor, Chief Workforce Officer, Bitwise Industries

As leaders in the Salesforce ecosystem, our panelists had incredible insights to share, including their personal stories, the importance of diversity at their companies, and how they drive inclusive hiring practices. Watch the full recording or read through the conversation below!

What are some of the initiatives you’re working on to support diversity and inclusion at your company?

Michelle: Bitwise started with the idea that each one of us is telling a unique story about our journey. How do we create momentum such that these stories become more of the norm than just outliers? Bitwise really set about doing that in three areas:

One is training folks for employment opportunities in the tech sector. Oftentimes, what we’re doing is simply opening doors…connecting with communities like the LGBTQ community or reentry populations like veterans or women who have been disproportionately left out of the workplace in the last year.

We also have some pre-apprentice classes where folks can learn in six-week increments to understand what that role might be like and gain some foundational skills.

And the biggest piece of what we do is our apprentice program, which is paid full-time and receives medical benefits. It’s really important for us that folks step into that and feel as supported as possible. Apprentices are paired up with senior technologists inside of tech consulting to work on real-world projects, build Salesforce platforms, and learn from Salesforce administrators and developers so that when they’ve completed their apprenticeship, we know they have all the skills necessary for their first job in technology.

Ashley: Hiring without tokenizing people is something that’s very near and dear to my heart…because it’s not just about going out and hiring someone who’s diverse because they’re diverse. You have to change your hiring practices from the start.

One of the things that really needs to be changed is lowering the gatekeeping. Not everybody has the privilege and access to a four-year degree, and that’s not a matter of somebody being smarter than another person. It’s a matter of privilege. So removing that “you must have a four-year degree” requirement is important, as well as interviewing skills. Some people think you’re not trustworthy or professional if you don’t maintain eye contact. It’s just very difficult for certain people to do for an entire hour-long conversation. It doesn’t mean that these people aren’t skilled and talented. It means they’re different.

But the biggest thing I would say about maintaining and keeping a thriving, diverse population in your company is changing yourself before you’re ready to hire diversely and not tokenizing your employees. It isn’t about making you look good. Looking good will come through authentic actions.

Stuart: The majority of recruiters within corporate environments are paid just like salespeople — on commission. The easiest way to make a buck is to hire in the manager’s likeness. I remember walking into a previous role where everyone looked the same and even tested the same on the Myers-Briggs assessment. Extraverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging (EITJ) was kind of the default personality. We tend to swim in the same DNA pool based on experience rather than attributes. So you’ve got to have an understanding of the hiring practices bureau and recruitment department. You have to start shifting towards attribute hiring because you can teach content, but not attributes.

What’s one thing that workplaces, managers, hiring managers, and CEOs can do to better support those from diverse backgrounds?

Ashley: I keep business cards on me so when I’m in line at Starbucks or getting fast food and I’m talking with somebody that is very communicative and seems like they’d be a great person to work with, I’ll give them one and say “We hire and train people. If you’re ever interested, please send me a message.” That’s one way managers in hiring positions can find diverse talents without having the traditional job requirements.

Stuart: I live in the world of sales and marketing. Technology departments traditionally sold to tech departments, which skew to a certain mindset and target demographic. But now, 70% of technology decisions are made with the business. I’ve lost business and I’ve won business when I’ve shown diversity. So for every manager, just ask yourself “Does my outward-facing function reflect the customers I’m selling to?” Because you will lose business if it does not.

You can also have an impact in terms of inclusive environments. Does your team event always skew to drinking? Does your corporate sponsorship always extend to F1 motorsports or rugby (here in the UK)? You can, at every level, make a difference.

Michelle: As leaders, we need to look at inherently biased systems and ask ourselves why they’re there and what can be done differently about them. Are they still serving your needs and goals? The Bitwise ethos is we’re looking at the communities we’re in. Are we representative of the populations, of the voices, of the communities where we are? Because if we are doing that, then we’re building products with those voices and experiences at the table.

If your systems are built such that these folks don’t have an opportunity or access to that, then there’s something about your system that needs addressing, whether it’s hiring, retention, belonging, or representation. All of those things allow you to take a really good look across the board to figure out and be really honest and transparent with what’s broken and recognizing that there can be a shift.

Watch the full recording to learn more about Salesforce Talent Alliance and hear more about each of our panelists’ personal stories.